Shades of Destruction
by Verstrahlt
Summary: You stumble out of the battle, into a shallow cave. You notice that there are several crates of weapons, first aid supplies and loosely-leafed books. Picking one up at random, you begin to sift through it, trying to chronologically order... Diary entries?


Shades of Destruction

You stumble into a cave just outside the battle. You're wounded, and you have little energy left. You slump down against the wall, but it's just then that you notice that there are several crates of books. Curiosity overcomes your pain, and you sift through these books and scrolls, until you find the one you think is the first one.

_Kalen's journal- Orgrimmar_

_-Arrived in Orgrimmar today. Thought Durotar would be as hot as the Barrens, but luckily for me it was raining. Received a lot of foul looks, though, when trudging through the streets. They must not take too kindly to Night Elves, although I can't figure out why... Ashenvale and Felwood belong to them, as does Lordaeron and most of Northrend . Do they have the audacity to bear resentment to former Alliance members, even though they were victorious over us? _

There are several scribbles and illegible pictures

You decide to turn the page

_-Finding the inn we were supposed to stay in was harder than expected, though. We were told by a guard in the Valley of Strength that it was somewhere in The Drag. What she decided NOT to tell us was that The Drag was enormous. After wading our way through the muddy backstreets and the sleazy underground of Orgrimmar, we finally managed to find the _Spit and Boar_. We were told by our goblin booking agent that it was a reputable and fine building with charming staff and beautiful views over the Valley of Wisdom. To be hones though, it isn't too bad. It looks like the average shack you'd see in Westfall, but the inside is quite warm and homely. The staff, well the staff aren't too bad. There was, however, an orc guest who spat on Jessie's shoe, told Tarok that he was a spineless traitor who "conspired with Razormane, has gnomes in his closet and passed information to the Alliance-scum in the Fourth War," and decided to kick me in the back of the thigh. He then, after the look I gave him, left without insulting Jasonia or Muln. Thankfully, though, the girl at the check-in desk was a lot more friendly. She said her name was "anything I wanted," told Tarok that she would "do anything for him," and left Bergkamp speechless after giving him a peck on the cheek. I suppose it helped that she was a Blood Elf. Any of the other races you'd expect to find in Orgrimmar would have had trouble flirting with us, but... I must say, she was quite... _attractive_. _

_-The room isn't too bad, I suppose, although I do have to share it with Tarok who snores like a son of Therazane, and Muln. Tauren really don't smell too good, you know... I suppose it isn't too bad, though. Jessie and Landra have to share a room with an undead woman. I guess I really can't feel TOO sorry for myself, at least I _know _who my roommates are. The undead might be a plague bringer or something. Or a warlock. _

_-I'm really looking forward to seeing Durotar tomorrow. We're due to leave Orgrimmar and head straight to Sen'Jin village to pick up someone who wants to join our business. We probably won't be able to get through all of Durotar tomorrow, so Tarok say's we'll take our time getting there, and stop at Razor Hill for a night._

_-Actually... when I think about it, none of us were even alive during the fourth war, except Muln the Younger, who was just a child. I'm a young druid, Tarok just got back from training with the Earthen Ring, Jasonia just finished her training with the Blood Knights of Silvermoon and Jessie is on leave from Northshire Abby. I wonder if the people at Razor Hill will despise us as much as the people in Orgrimmar and Bladefist bay do. It's strange that they would hate us, though. They defeated the Alliance, and broke it apart. They took Loch Modan, Duskwood, Ashenvale and Felwood... _

_-Actually, when I think about it... Felwood isn't so 'Fel' anymore. When I went there with Broll a few years ago, it was kinda clean and nice-looking. It didn't look corrupted or anything, although it did remind me a little of the Plaguewood. _

_-Anyway, it's getting late. Muln says he's going impale my journal on one of his horns if I don't stop.I'm actually really glad that I met him through the Cenarion Circle. He's my best friend. Without him, I'd be lost. Tarok and all the others, they're ok, and I really do love them, but I could deal with losing one of them. Muln, on the other hand... I don't know what I'd do._

**Kalen Nightwhisper**

You think back 10 years, and remember a certain Kalen Nightwhisper. Supposedly he was one of the few people who managed to- somewhat- unite the peoples of Azeroth and turn against the Burning Legion. They disappeared 4 years ago, and nobody knows where they are.

Maybe their whereabouts are mentioned in this stack of books...

_Landra's journal- Durotar_

_-We left Orgrimmar yesterday. By the Sunstrider it's an awful city. Horribly polluted from those awful little goblins. I already miss the Elwynn forest, Stormwind, even the Redridge mountains. While being hot, dusty, dry and extremely sunny, Durotar itself isn't actually that bad. Orgrimmar, however, is about as hot as the Hellfire Peninsula. It's sticky, it's crowded, and the only liveable place- it seems- is the Valley of Wisdom. While Tarok, Kalen and Muln got a room with a lovely view, me and Jessie, however, were forced to share with some undead witch who spent the whole night doing extremely strange experiments. I think the biggest injustice, however, was the fact that we didn't even get a window. It was dark hot and stuffy, and I really didn't sleep. So when Tarok and Kalen were annoying me during the journey to Razor Hill... Maybe that's why I snapped at them._

_-It's not their fault I got angry. Well... it kind of is. But I called them some unpleasant names... and I really feel bad about it. They're really nice boys, even if they aren't Blood Elves. Kalen is so funny and charming; and Tarok? He's so strong and good looking- for an orc! And he's always so dependable. You can always count on him being there for you. I'll go out early tomorrow morning and get them a gift. I'm glad I studied Orcish in Stormwind, because I swear I'm the only one here who speaks Thalassian. _

_-Razor Hill, though, for my money, is a lot nicer than Orgrimmar. It's so quaint and lovely. Everyone looks so happy. And the architecture- amazing. Orgrimmar is so evil-looking and harsh. Although the name- Razor Hill? I'd change that to something more appealing. _

_-And the rooms in the Razor Hill inn are so much cheaper. This time we can afford for me and Jess to have a room by ourselves. Tomorrow I'll get up nice and early and head into the market, which is right close next to the inn. I asked Jess if she wanted to come, but she threw a pillow at me. I guess that means no! I guess that means I'll have to pick up breakfast for everyone... time to start planning. _

_-Maybe I'll get Kalen an orcish totem, or something. He likes those sort of artefacts. _

You think about some of the trinkets you have on you. It just so happens that one of the Legion brutes you killed was carrying a small, battered totem with the initials: K.W. Could it possibly be the gift Landra gave him? If it is, something is very, very wrong.

_- And Tarok... hmmm. It's always tricky with him. I guess I can decide when I'm there tomorrow. Well, anyway, if I'm to wake up tomorrow I'd better get some sleep. _

**Landra Dawnrunner**

_Muln the Younger's journal- Durotar_

_-Landra was furious at Tarok and Kalen. They kept pestering her to show them different Paladin spells, or to tell them what Silvermoon City was like, and just generally annoying her. They're young, I can hardly blame them for being annoying, nor can I hold Landra responsible for, to use the human term, "flipping out" on them. _

_-When we arrived here, Tarok and Kalen just ran off, probably to check the town center for any errands they could run for people. I'm not worried about them, though. Tarok's already been accepted into the Earthern Ring as an initiate, and from what I've seen, Kalen is becoming quite a powerful druid. _

_-I took that chance, when they ran off, to try to smooth things over with Landra. I asked Jessie to find a stable for our kodo, which was probably a mistake because most citizens here haven't ever even seen a human before. Landra was extremely tired, and extremely pissed off. I told her that they're just young and immature, and that in her place, I probably would have done the same thing. _

_-Jessie came back in tears. According to her, some Orcish children had been throwing rocks at her and shouting insults. This... this sort of behaviour is just wrong. The Horde defeated the Alliance in the fourth war. That much is true, and as such gave them bragging rights. Bragging rights, however, does NOT stretch to children who weren't even alive being extremely hostile to former Alliance races. It's just sick. Jessie's only 16 for hells sake! _

_-We checked our pack kodo, Smyrna, into a stable and found our inn. Tarok and Kalen, however, were much harder to find. I left Landra and Jessie together in the inn and set out to ask around. After a few hours I finally found them just outside a small Razormane encampment, about to assault it. Thankfully I stopped them before one of them got hurt. Impulsive younglings...18 and 19... far too young to be out hunting quilboar. Maybe it was a little impulsive of me to agree to protect them on this, and I quote, "adventure". I'm only 33, and the next oldest is Landra at 21. I'm nervous. What if I do something wrong? What if I let my guard down? Although I've heard that Tarok's friend and our contact in Sen'Jin village is quite old. If I recall correctly, Temu'Jin is about 26, although it's hard to tell with Trolls. _

_-Kalen is yelling at me to blow out my candle so they can get some sleep. I suppose it's only fair, after what I told him last night. _

**Muln Earthfury, the Younger**


End file.
